The present invention relates to a deceleration device for submunition units that can be ejected from a spin stabilized carrier projectile and which includes a deployable deceleration element.
European Patent Application EP-A 0,274,580 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,432 disclose a submunition unit provided with a deceleration element made of a fabric or plastic sheet in the shape of a disc and which is provided with a supporting structure of radial and crisscrossing strips of webbing and a hem facing tape. The deceleration element is accommodated in a ring element that can be separated from the submunition unit and deployment is effected by the rotation.
It is desirable to effect the activation of the deceleration device in a submunition unit in a controlled manner and in time after the performance of certain functional steps. To accomplish this, however, it is necessary to prevent the deceleration device from being deployed for a certain length of time under heavy spinning, independently of the structural space, and to then permit it to open in a controlled manner. This is not possible with the prior art deceleration device.